


Comfort, please

by martianwahtney



Series: p l e a s e [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 15:24:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6710578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martianwahtney/pseuds/martianwahtney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>where Nat is a little more than uncomfortable that Bucky lives in the Tower. and maybe Tony wants to show her that there's nothing to worry about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort, please

     Natasha Romanoff had grown up hearing horror stories of what the Winter Soldier was capable of. Of course, back then, they weren’t horror stories. Those stories _glorified_ the Winter Soldier’s power. It was the dream of every girl in the Red Room to be proficient enough to work with him. The Asset, as they were told, was merciless and obeyed orders without hesitation.  
     While Sam and Steve were out trying to bring Barnes back, Nat tried to convince herself that she’d be fine with it.  
     But then they found him.  
     She hadn’t been expecting that.  
     Now he was living in the Tower with all of them.  
     And Nat was less than comfortable.  
     Natasha knew, ok, she knew what Steve was trying to do. He was trying to show her that Bucky wasn’t the same guy- that he was no longer the Winter Soldier that she’d grown up not only fearing, but damn near worshiping.  
     When Nat was around, Steve would talk a little louder than normal about how well Bucky was doing with his psych eval. He would mention how Bucky and Dr. Banner were doing yoga together so the both of them could keep their temper in check. It didn’t take long for Clint to join in (he always enjoyed pushing at Nat’s buttons). Clint and Bucky would spend a few hours every week testing out their aim in the archery complex on Clint’s floor of the Avenger’s Tower. And thus Nat would hear about what an amazing sharp shooter Barnes was turning out to be. That didn’t make Nat feel any more comfortable around the ex-assassin.  
     She knew it was wrong. What she was feeling and how she treated him. She had no right after all. She was raised in the Red Room, trained with 27 other Black Widow’s to be the best of the best. To be merciless, bloodthirsty assassins with no remorse. But Nat had gotten out. SHIELD saved her- Clint saved her. No one made her feel alienated by her past. Not even when she joined the Avengers. She thought for sure that they’d protest her joining them because of all the red in her ledger. But they didn’t. They accepted her without hesitation and made her feel welcome.  
     But she’d grown up fearing him. She’d grown up with images of his confirmed kills seared into her brain. _This is what happens if you betray us, Natalia_. And Nat swore she would never go out as his victim.  
The fact that he shot her (twice) never really seemed to affect her. She was far more concerned with what the Soldier could do to her friends. To her family. He could hurt her all he wanted. But them? Oh god, she’d never be able to live with herself if he turned on them and did so much as lay a finger on her friends.

     Tony knew how uncomfortable Natasha was around Bucky. Hell- everyone in the damn Tower could see it. And he knew that even with Steve, and Clint, and even Bruce on occasion, telling her how well Bucky was adjusting, it was going to take a while for the Black Widow to get used to being around Bucky.  
     It didn’t help that Tony liked Bucky. Like, _like_ liked Bucky. Those feelings (and Tony shuddered at the mere _thought_ of admitting he had feelings) helped push him to the decision that maybe he too should help Nat become more at ease with all the inhabitants of the Tower.  
     And Tony didn’t want her to be uncomfortable. He liked Nat. He trusted her. How could he not? She saved his life. Yes, ok, fine she also jabbed a needle into his neck but that action had saved his life. Tony wanted her to feel comfortable everywhere she went in the Tower. That’s why he invited all of the Avengers to live in the Tower. If they were going to save the world together then the least they could do was all get along, and the only way that was going to happen was for all of them to live together. Or at least that’s what Pepper, Rhodey, and even JARVIS insisted for at least 3 months before Tony actually invited them to live in the Tower.  
     And maybe the three of them were right.  
     But now the dynamics of the Tower had changed. Tony couldn’t let that happen. He genuinely missed the weekly movie nights. And though he was loathe to admit it the group breakfasts had really grown on him as well. He concluded that in order to restore balance to the Tower, he was going to have to help Natasha find some sort of comfort when she was near Bucky. And her comfort was much more important than Tony’s physical well being.  
     Besides, Tony was only 83.7% certain that Bucky wouldn’t hurt him.  
     JARVIS had helped him run the math.

     It happened in the kitchen. Nat had plans to make herself some tea, but she stopped dead when she saw a sleepy looking Bucky Barnes near the coffee machine, clinging to a mug of coffee like it was his lifeline. Nat had half a mind to turn right back out of the kitchen and return when Bucky wasn’t there. But before she could leave, Tony waltzed into the kitchen and headed right to Bucky  
     “James,” Tony started.  
     Nat recognized the tone is his voice.  
     The genius was about to start whining.  
     Nat kind of wanted to hit him to make him stop.  
     “You didn’t come visit me in my lab,” Tony accused.  
     “I was sleeping Stark,” Bucky replied.  
     “Yes but you promised!” there it was, the unmistakable Stark Whine™.  
     Bucky didn’t respond. He just stared at Tony with an expression of bemused patience.  
     “Dum-E was incredibly disappointed,”  
     “You can’t use Dum-E against me!”  
     And then Tony was talking. He was talking and nudging Bucky. Nudging a sleepy, dangerous assassin. Nat was completely ready to jump in front of Tony if Bucky were to snap. She was formulating 10 different strategies in her head, each one of them consisted of getting Tony out of harm’s way as fast as she could. Her dark gaze flicked to a phone charger that she was more than willing to use against the Winter Soldier- she then looked back at Bucky to- the man was smiling.  
     Bucky’s dark gaze was caught on Tony.  
     Tony was buzzing around the kitchen like a fucking hurricane, Bucky’s coffee in his grasp. And somehow the genius was still talking.  
     Nat didn’t know when Tony stole Bucky’s coffee. Or how the genius never seemed to run out of things to say.  
     But Bucky was still smiling at Tony.  
     It was a small smile.  
     A fond smile.  
     The same kind of smile Nat found on her face when she looked at Clint.  
     Then Tony stopped talking for half a second to return Bucky’s fond smile.  
     And he was talking again.  
     And Nat felt a little more comfortable.


End file.
